Chapter 4

Les

The restof the night dragged by, slow as molasses in a mid-winter blizzard. He tried to get back into his book, but all of a sudden, the picture of the Little he had in his head was replaced with a blonde, blue-eyed firecracker from his past.

Picturing Raelynn in any of the scenarios in that book was not something he needed to be doing while working. It wouldn't do to scare one of the many Littles who were staying or who lived on the Ranch by greeting them with a massive erection. Best to save his reading for another time.

He pulled out his phone and lost game after game of Tetris as his mind kept wandering to the past, to the possibilities for the future. Raelynn Sutherland. Right here at Rawhide Ranch. Somehow, he'd known when he took this job that it would change his life. He just hadn't realized it would be a dream come true.

After what seemed like an eternity, Les' relief arrived. It would still be a while before he was supposed to pick up Rae-Rae, so he decided to head to his apartment and get cleaned up. He'd rather be a bit more dressed up when was with her. She was worth taking the extra time and effort.

He couldn't wait to get to know who she was now. He'd changed so much in the last twenty years. Les couldn't imagine that Rae-Rae hadn't as well. When he got to his apartment, he showered and changed. He needed to get to know her again. Les sorted through all the questions he had in his mind and planned how he'd ask them all. He just hoped she wanted to get to know the new him as well.

Raelynn

Raelynn searched through allher clothes, debating whether she should dress in something distinctly Little or if she should look more Big. Should she go with dressy or casual? She wasn't one-hundred percent certain this was a date. Maybe she'd embarrass herself if she dressed in a fancier style only to find out this was just a case of two old friends catching up.

She was overthinking it. She had a bad habit of doing that. Finally, she decided time wasn't on her side, so she closed her eyes, waved her hands over the clothes and lowered it onto something. She'd wear whatever was under her hand.

Raelynn opened her eyes to find she'd picked a pair of bell bottom jeans with white daisy patches placed at random down the legs. Awesome! She loved those jeans! She picked them up and slipped them on, then did the same with the white shirt that said groovy in yellow letters. The outfit was one that was versatile. It made her feel Little while still being an outfit people wouldn't automatically assume was for a Little.

She decided on wearing her long hair down and added a bit of mascara to her eyelashes and light pink tint to her lips. Just as she was slipping on her white canvas shoes, she heard someone knock on her door. She took a deep breath, reminded herself she could do this and this time, she wouldn't screw it up, then went to answer the door.

The cafe was busy,as it was apparently a popular place to get breakfast at this time of morning. She took in the friendly atmosphere and tried to focus on that instead of her nerves. There was so much she wanted to know about Les and the last twenty years. She was hoping he'd feel the same.

Les led her to one of the intimate small tables and pulled out a chair for her to sit. He asked her if there was anything in particular she wanted to order.

"If they have it, I'd like pancakes with strawberries, chocolate syrup and whipped cream. A sausage would be nice too."

Les raised his brow at her choices, he'd always been a stickler for healthy foods at breakfast except on special occasions. When he didn't say anything, only nodding and heading to the counter, Raelynn figured he must consider this special enough for her order. Maybe it was a date after all.

Les

There wasa bit of a line at the counter and as he waited, Les couldn't stop himself from staring at Rae-Rae. She was so fucking beautiful. He couldn't believe how much prettier she was in person than she'd been in his memories. She'd been young before, still learning who she was and what she wanted. Now, she radiated confidence. It was sexy as all hell.

Someone tapped his shoulder and pointed to indicate the line had moved forward and Les closed the distance between himself and the rest of the line. When his turn came up, he ordered what Rae-Rae had requested and couldn't help himself from adding a bowl of fruit. What she'd asked for wasn't all that healthy. He considered ordering the same thing for himself but settled on his usual breakfast of eggs, sausage and toast. And coffee for both of them, of course; what was breakfast without coffee?

As he headed back to her, his heart and mind raced. This was the chance of a lifetime and he was terrified of screwing it up again. He really didn't want a repeat of twenty years ago, of finding her gone without a trace.